Undisguised Truths
by For You Blue
Summary: *Sequel to Future Shadows* After The Angels Take Manhattan and in the wake of attending the funeral of Amelia Pond-Williams, the grieving Doctor seeks out advice and consolation from the one person left in the universe whom he can completely confide in...his father.


This story was written in response to a request of a previous reviewer of _Future Shadows _(Which you can find by clicking the link in my profile.) It connects in with that story, but it also works as a stand-alone and a follow up to the Ponds Departure and a prequel to _The Snowmen_ Christmas Special.

I hope you enjoy.

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**Disclaimer**: I don't own Doctor Who.

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**Undisguised Truths**

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**A **fter attending Amelia Pond-William's funeral and burial, The Doctor had received a piece of advice from her adopted son, Anthony Williams, while they stood at Amy's graveside; that the Time Lord had decided to follow.

Anthony had advised his brother-in-law to find someone to talk to that The Doctor could be completely honest with; as Amy had mentioned that The Doctor needed someone to talk to that wasn't going to lie or skirt around the truth. Anthony had also suggested that if there was someone that The Doctor should have spoken to long ago, that he shouldn't wait.

_Wisdom of humans. Really, I would have liked to have seen the Time Lord council have come up with a better way to–well, they really weren't much for emotions. Humany-wumany of you, Doctor. _

At the thought of that, The Doctor seized up and grasped the controls of his TARDIS on the console panel in front of him. River Song was taking a nap on the booth-seat, her mouth slightly parted as she breathed in and out evenly. Dressed simply in a white shirt; black breeches and equally black boots, River's features were partially hidden by her loose, curly blonde hair that had fallen across her face as she dozed.

Watching her with a quietly unreadable expression, The Doctor turned around and lent his back against the console, folding his arms over his cream-coloured shirt with a furrowed brow.

_River. I don't know…I know she loves me; and I love her in a way, but…no…I'm not sure and I never have been. Even when we met for the first time in the library all those years ago, I didn't know how much of the truth she was telling me. Now she's my wife_…_well, technically so considering she didn't actually marry me per se_…

_But do you love her, Doctor?_

The Doctor hesitated at his consciousness blunt question. "Do I?" He wondered out-loud, placing his hand over his mouth.

_Of course I do. She loves me and…no. That's the end of it. I know that Time Lord's don't usually have more than one romantic partner in their entire lifetime. But there is that part of me alone that seeks out new companionship; new intimate loves…and we know very well what part of us that is, don't we?_

The Doctor rubbed his eyes, "I care for her." He murmured softly.

_Yes, Doctor. You care for her. You love her, in a way. But are you not being honest with River right now, in the fact you may not love her in a romantic sense, because you don't want to be left alone._

Widening his eyes, The Doctor clenched his hands against the corner of the TARDIS console, his knuckles white as he whispered. "That's not true. I don't…soon she'll be leaving for the library. I don't want to hurt her. She's Melody Pond. River Song. I don't want her to leave me."

Ignoring that nagging realization still troubling him, The Doctor knelt at his wife's side and shook her gently. River's blue eyes fluttered open and settled on the shakily smiling, broad features of her husband, with a small smile in repose.

"Hello Sweetie. What is it?"

"We're almost at our destination. You don't mind that I'm keeping it from you?" The Doctor questioned with a grin and River rolled her eyes mockingly, with a responding smirk as she moved into a seated position.

"Now I don't believe I ever said that. But it's all right, Sweetie. I trust you." River stretched out her her arms above her head and winked at The Doctor. "I'm going to go freshen up a bit. Let me know when we've arrived at our 'mystery location." She got to her feet and swept past the Time Lord.

Sighing, The Doctor got to his feet and walked over to his console, flicking a few switches as he adjusted the trajectory. _I don't know why I'm doing this. At this point in time, the old man and I haven't spoken to each other since before the Great Time War. _ The Doctor thought with a scowl.

_Although we haven't really talked much since…since it happened. The last time I saw him we were civil at least. But I haven't sort out, needed; or taken his personal advice in centuries, I was much younger in my eighth incarnation when I last asked his opinion –he's going to give me another lecture on using up more of my regenerations, I can feel it in my bones...well, that and when I last saw him a few months ago, he subtly mentioned that he'd already told me off at some point. _

_Hope I got the timing right, he mentioned it was in the summer..._

Checking the visual screen, The Doctor nodded and began the landing cycle. Turning on the brakes so that his TARDIS made it's usual, wheezing humming, as it dematerialized.

_I don't care if River sulks about it , I like that noise…come to think of it, who taught River to fly the old girl if it wasn't me as she said…? Maybe she was being coy. There's no-one else alive that…no. It's a question for another time. I'd better make a note of it this time though, I'd almost forgotten…_

As the TARDIS came to a halt, The Doctor flipped around his visual screen to take a quick check in the mirror. Smoothing back his lanky, light brown hair away from his green eyes, The Doctor removed his tie, throwing it into a nearby bin; before he reached for his tweed coat –thrown casually over one side of the console.

Pulling on his coat, The Doctor then proceeded to repeat his preening in the make-shift mirror; checking his teeth and fiddling with his hair again. Sighing heavily, the Time Lord flipped back around his screen and pushed it back up, before reaching for the intercom.

"River? We've arrived."

-xxx-

_San Francisco, August 20__th__, 2012_

The Doctor had no trouble finding the white, townhouse (one of San Francisco's famed Painted Ladies,) belonging to Professor Daniel Joyce. He'd been here before; and the old man hadn't changed residences on him, as The Doctor could feel his presence from the moment the TARDIS had landed on the park opposite the elegant, wooden building.

Absently reaching out for River's hand, The Doctor led his wife up the lilac edged footpath and up the short flight of stairs to the townhouse's porch. Hesitating a moment, The Doctor felt River lift up his hand to her lips and kiss the back of it.

Smiling wordlessly across at his wife, The Doctor took in a deep breath and reached across to press the doorbell button. There was the sound of footsteps, that got gradually louder, before there was the sound of an unlocking chain; and the front door of the townhouse opened, revealing a tall, solemn looking man; with ancient blue eyes and a well trimmed, greying beard. He was clad in a white shirt, (a couple of buttons undone at the neck) and tan slacks; his shoes were simple, brown loafers.

The older man stared at The Doctor for a moment, before blinking once and sighing heavily as he removed his national-health styled glasses, "Theta." He pronounced in his distinct, Scottish brogue.

The Doctor smiled thinly, "Hello, Father." He greeted in response. "It's been a long time."

Ulysses raised an eyebrow at his son, before stepping over the threshold and pulling his son towards him. Bending The Doctor's head down, Ulysses smelt his son's forehead and growled slightly.

"Number eleven? Theta, really." Ulysses let his son go and pointed his right index finger in The Doctor's sulking face, (he knew the lecture had been forthcoming, but it was still a sore point.) "I warned you the last time about galavanting around, playing hero." He glanced aside at River, cocking his head slightly to the side as he regarded the blonde woman.

"Your new companion smells of your TARDIS."

River Song blinked, "Do I say 'thank-you' or 'excuse me'?" She inquired of her father-in-law, who shook his head in response, with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Neither, my dear. Come inside the both of you and explain yourself, son." Ulysses ushered The Doctor and River inside, before shutting the door behind them.

Standing in the hall, the former Time Lord folded his arms across his chest and put back on his glasses, surveying his offspring with a look of exasperation and dismay.

"Borusa was always far too indulgent with you at the academy," Ulysses began, the ancient alien paused a moment, before continuing. "I should have told him to have spent less time being your grandfather and more of a stern teacher. Look at you." He huffed. "The face of a child; just over the age of twelve hundred –as I can sense– and through ten regenerations already!"

The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck, "You think I have the face of a child?" He couldn't think of any other response.

Ulysses actually cracked a half-smile as he lent against the banister of the upstairs, circular stairwell. "As baby faced as when you were a time tot. Your eight incarnation was much more you, Theta. I suppose you lost that one during the war; and no," Ulysses raised up a hand before his son could open his mouth.

"I don't want to hear how you went through another two, not right now. I'll need a stiff drink first." The older man turned on his heel and headed down the hallway. "Follow."

River glanced up at The Doctor with a raised eyebrow, "_Theta_?"

The Doctor grunted, "My childhood name. At the academy they called me Theta Sigma. Anyone who wasn't my Father called me 'Thete', before I took my Time Lord name.' " He glanced aside at his wife.

"The old man hasn't called me 'Theta' in years. I think old age is finally softening him up. Or senility." The Doctor mentioned vaguely, strolling away from River in the direction his father had departed. "Mind you, I haven't called him 'Father' in centuries, either."

River waited a moment to process the odd events unfolding around her, before rushing to catch up with her husband, "Do I really smell like the TARDIS?" She queried, The Doctor smiled over his shoulder at River.

"Yes. But that's a good thing. She smells like the most sexy–" The Doctor caught River's raised brow of warning "–the _second_ most sexy thing in the universe." He mumbled instead.

River patted the side of her husband's face. "Good boy. Now, let's go see what your 'daddy-dearest' has in the way of a good drink." She linked her arm through The Doctor's. "How come you haven't mentioned that your father is still alive, let alone living on Earth, to me before?"

The Doctor pursed his lips and stopped in the hallway, looking down at his wife with a serious expression. "The old curmudgeon's been here since the nineteen-forties. He was exiled here." He responded bluntly.

"Because?" River gestured with her hands for The Doctor to elaborate on his revelation.

The Doctor pushed back his hair with two hands and exhaled, "My Father had been in trouble so many times before for consorting with aliens–and yes, I suppose it is genetic before you say anything, River," he interrupted himself before Song could say a word. River smiled indulgently and widened her blue eyes in mock innocence.

"He spent time in Shada, for one exploration." The Doctor revealed, folding his arms across his chest with a tilt of his head as he searched through his vast memories. "I was at the academy, I was only in my mid fifties, probably physically at least, a good equivalent of a fifteen-year-old or so human. My mother wanted me to come back home for the duration. She was human, in her eighties, and she was fading, River, even with Time Lord technology keeping her looking like she was a sixty year old human. My cousins never liked her and she was alone." He rubbed his eyes.

"But they wouldn't let me go. Ulysses spent ten years in Shada, before he was released, bearing the tattoo. You can imagine the whispers and the outrage in Lungbarrow amongst my cousins. But they hadn't disowned Ulysses and myself, not yet." The Doctor pinched the bridge of his nose between his eyes.

"My Mother was ill and my Father blamed himself for worrying her needlessly and decided to leave Gallifrey for a while; leaving me in the care of my Grandfather Borusa, who taught at the Academy.

"My Father headed for Earth during World War II and enlisted in Operation Black Cross, a Hitler assassination team, under the name 'John Smith'." The Doctor shook his head and looked over at River. "The operation was a failure. My so called friend at the time, The Master, had deliberately betrayed Ulysses to the Germans; and my Father was imprisoned in Dachau.

"The Time Lords had his TARDIS return to Gallifrey while Ulysses was in prison, about a year before the war ended. It took about twenty years on Gallifrey for the truth to come out. Around the time of my first marks, Borusa revealed what my father had done; and that he was exiled to Earth. He also admitted my mother was dying."

River put her hand on The Doctor's shoulder and lent her head against his arm as he continued to tell the story.

"I begged him permission to borrow a TARDIS and take my Mother to Earth to spend what could be her last moments with my Father. Borusa arranged it secretly and helped me pilot the TARDIS, taking my frail Mother back to Earth." The Doctor rubbed his eyes with his free hand, the other resting on the lower of River's back.

"We found my Father at the University of Chicago, having just garnered a teaching post. He was all business still. Once my mother was settled, he sat me down and demanded to know my academy results so far. I had Borusa explain my lackluster results and Ulysses was quite disappointed.

"I wanted to stay as long as my Mother was alive, but Borusa insisted I accompany him back to the Academy, saying that in a few decades when I was a Time Lord I could return."

River took The Doctor's hand, "Did you return in time to see your mother before she passed?" She invoked. The Doctor nodded, looking away, his green eyes distant.

"I…I waited a while. When I was married and after my daughter and son were born, so my Mother could meet her grandchildren. I piloted a TARDIS to Earth and we found my parents in the garden having tea." The Doctor smiled fondly.

"It reminded me of being a child again, watching the two of them talk and turn every so often to see me running around in the gardens. They were delighted with their grandchildren; and we stayed with them up until my Mother's passing. My father and I saw each other every so often after that, mostly after my own grandchildren were born and I frequented Earth more often. He'd moved here to San Francisco by then."

River brushed her hand over The Doctor's face, "It's hard to believe sometimes you've had entire lifetimes in one single existence. Then you tell me a story like that one and I can see it in your eyes, all the people you've known and lost." She took the Doctor's hand and squeezed it tightly.

The Doctor smiled and lead River down the hall wordlessly, they entered the kitchen to see Ulysses pouring out cognac brandy into decanters; looking up as his son and daughter-in-law entered.

"Hennessy 1863. I remember you enjoyed it the last time you were here, Theta." Ulysses mentioned mildly, as The Doctor and River sat down on the backless, silver coloured stools at the breakfast bar.

River accepted her decanter; and watched her husband with a surprised head tilt as The Doctor didn't refuse the beverage –unlike his current norm of disliking alcohol– and grasped the decanter before swirling it expertly.

"Yes I did.. Interesting year." The Doctor replied mildly, taking a sip of the cognac before putting down the decanter and motioning between his wife and his parent. "River, this is my Father, Ulysses. Although nowadays he tends to go by Professor Daniel Joyce. Father, this is my wife, Melody Pond. Who most days is River Song."

Ulysses raised an eyebrow as he lowered his decanter from his lips and glanced aside at his son, before offering his hand to River and kissing the back of her's when she accepted it. "How do you do? Well, this is a surprise." He lent forward, looking into River's eyes.

"He's not spinning one of his yarns, is he, my dear? You are his wife?"

River nodded and smiled as she removed her hand from her father-in-law's. "Yes, technically speaking, Professor Joyce." She replied cautiously, not knowing if the former Time Lord was jesting or being prejudiced. River thought it might have been the latter, since it would be certainly be the pot calling the kettle.

Ulysses nodded, "I'm very sorry, River. You must have thought Theta was raised in a juvenile hall, the way he act's like a delinquent some times–"

"Oi!" The Doctor voiced his objection.

"–however I assure you, he had loving parents who tried to curb his rambunctiousness. But," Ulysses sighed and glanced over at his sulking son. "It was always going to happen, considering his mother and mine's temperaments; and perchance for getting to varying levels of trouble."

The Doctor smirked, "That's an understatement. We were always bad eggs for Lungbarrow, weren't we?" He pointed out and Ulysses murmured something, drowned out by his sip of brandy.

River glanced between her husband and his father, before hopping down off of the stool. "Well, I've got to be getting back," she flipped open her vortex-manipulator. "Time, sweeties. Good-bye, my love," she kissed The Doctor's cheek and tapped his nose.

"I'll leave you boys to have your little former-Time Lord father to Time Lord son chat. Professor Joyce, it was lovely to met you," River nodded and pressed some controls on the vortex-manipulator on her wrist. "I'm sure we'll meet again, soon. I hope for a much longer visit."

Ulysses nodded sagely, "I hope so too. Good-bye, my dear." He farewelled and The Doctor kissed his wife's hand –with a look of thanks at her obvious quick thinking– just before River disappeared in a flash of vortex-dimensional light.

There was a moment silence after River left, as Ulysses and The Doctor both sipped their drinks and failed to make eye-contact. Neither obviously quite sure how to break the silence of what was years separation for Ulysses; and –even more– centuries for The Doctor.

"You look old, Theta." Ulysses ventured finally, putting down his decanter and folding his arms over his chest as he surveyed his son. "What are you here for?"

The Doctor smiled wryly down into his empty brandy decanter, "So how is Anne? Alice? Your grandchildren?" He changed the subject dryly, not thinking that he could discuss anything about himself just yet.

Ulysses rested his hands on the edge of the breakfast bar, "Anne passed on two years ago. You don't have to say anything, I know you didn't like her very much, she felt the same." He added before his son could offer any sympathy. "Alice is in Boston with her husband. The grandchildren are fine. How are your grandchildren?"

The Doctor narrowed his eyes, "Susan broke contact with me, soon after her son, Alex, died. John and Gillian I lost contact with just before the last Time War. Telemakhus wouldn't tell me where they were. The last I heard Gillian was killed during the war, alongside her father." He broke the news to his father, who nodded stoically. "I don't know about John."

Ulysses actually offered a small smile, "I do." He revealed calmly, reaching for the cognac bottle and refilling their glasses.

"What?" The Doctor spluttered as his father screwed the cap back on the liquor bottle. "How do you know that? Where is he? It has to be Earth, right? I know you probably picked up on telepathic links, but you haven't been–"

"An answer for an answer, my son," Ulysses interceded with a raised brow. "Follow me," he motioned to The Doctor and stepped around the breakfast bar, heading for the side-door. The Doctor sighed heavily and followed his father out of the door.

Stepping down the two steps and onto the garden path, Ulysses lead his son over to a pair of peacock chairs assembled alongside each other, (a small table between them,) facing a fenced pool and expertly manicured garden, lit up by the outdoor solar lighting. The two Gallifreyans sat down and the late-Autumn breeze ruffled their hair; the wooden wind-chimes hanging from the side-porch clinkering out a hollow, melodious tune.

"Now, Theta." Ulysses put down his decanter on the table between the chairs and turned to face his son side on. "You're twelve hundred years old. The last I saw you, you were just over eight hundred, I believe. There has been three hundred years between then and now." Ulysses switched to Gallifreyan.

[I'm your father and you can confide in me. Talk to me, son.]

Taking in a deep breath of relief primarily, The Doctor began to tell his father everything in their native Gallifreyan tongue, interceding speech with telepathic images.

The Time War. Romana. The Time Lords and Rassilon. The trapping of Gallifrey. Regenerating. Returning to Earth. Rose. Invasions. Daleks. Cybermen. Silurians. Captain Jack Harkness. Bad Wolf. Regenerating. Sarah Jane. Pete's world. Bad Wolf Bay. Martha Jones. Donna. The meta-crisis. Doctor Donna. Water Of Mars. The Master. Wilf. The return of Gallifrey and The Time Lords.

[Rassilon had captured Mother's imprint from the Gallifreyan archives. His aim was most likely for blackmailing me.] The Doctor revealed to his father, who pursed his lips angrily.

[Mother disagreed with Rassilon's decision to break through the Time-Lock and to be used as blackmail; and was forced to act as one of Rassilon's weeping angels. She sent warnings to Wilf, not being able to contact me directly. But I saw her standing beside Rassilon, she looked at me and…] he trailed off and Ulysses looked furious, his eyes glinting in the semi-darkness.

[How dare he? Penelope wasn't even a Time Lady. He had no right! No right at all!] Ulysses threw his decanter on the ground, smashing the delicate glass to pieces.

[Bringing back your mother just to be used as a blackmail against you, for what you had to be justified in doing. Penelope was the most brilliant woman I ever met. I will be honest with you, son, I loved no one how I loved your mother; and I never will again.]

Putting his hand on his father's arm, The Doctor sighed, [I know, Father.] He assured his parent, smiling sadly. [I've had that one great love, too. And lost her long ago.] The Doctor squeezed his father's arm. [You taught me long ago to be above the actions of those who cause us harm.]

Ulysses patted his son's hand, [I don't know how often I've taken my own advice, Theta. But I said that many years ago. Continue, my son.]

The Doctor had been waiting for Ulysses to say something about the fate of Gallifrey, but he knew that his father had never forgiven their people for their actions against him; regardless of his love for his planet.

Continuing, The Doctor wove the tale of his past deeds including sending Gallifrey back into the Time-Lock. Saving Wilf's life from the radiation; and regenerating for the tenth time in his less than thousand year existence at that time.

Then Amelia Pond, the girl with a name like a fairytale. Returning twelve years later for her. Traveling with her. Rory the Roman. The Pandorica. Losing Alistair Lethbridge-Stuart and Sarah Jane. Melody Pond who would grow up to be River Song, whom his duplicate married. The Asylum of the Daleks and the genius soufflé girl, Oswin Oswald, the human trapped in the dalek.

Then The Doctor revealed his newest heartache, the lost of the Pond-Williams and attending Amy's funeral.

"I just don't know how much more of this I can take," The Doctor switched back to his mother's native English. "I lose them all, Father. I know it's the curse of the Time Lord's to be burdened with our lifespan and regenerative abilities. But there is that part of me that is human, not Time Lord.

"They are also my people. They are my only people now Gallifrey is lost. And they still leave me as they did when I was young. But it was easier then, I could let them go." The Doctor pushed his hands through his hair.

Ulysses pursed his lips, "You cannot, now?"

The Doctor shook his head and sighed heavily, looking up at the star filled night. "I don't want that. Not anymore. No more taking anyone to their death just because I need a companion. I'll just contact River whenever–"

"But aren't you going to lose her too, along your time-stream, soon?" The other Gallifreyan interrupted softly.

The Doctor hesitated and nodded slowly, "I've seen her die, in the past, as I told you. I can't stop it. I've got no way of being able to." He shook his head and lent his head on his fist.

"Do you know, with each regeneration I pretend to be someone else for a while, just to see if I am someone new. Different clothes; sometimes accent; personality… but I'm always me; and in the end, I just revert back to being myself." The Doctor glanced aside at his father.

Ulysses sighed heavily and removed his glasses, staring solemnly at his youthful looking son, who was, in actuality, only a hundred or so years younger than himself, now.

"Theta. There has never been anything wrong with you; besides your façade of arrogance and vanity. You always removed and locked yourself away, even as a child; unless you received some sort of praise, request or plea even; and then you'd finally crawl out of your shell, as the Earth turtles do." Ulysses ran his hand through his thinning hair.

"You were so highly emotional, something I blame on a mix of human and Gallifreyan genes."

The Doctor rolled his eyes to the side, "This isn't the part when you get to me being a failed genetic experiment, is it?" He mentioned deadpan.

Ulysses rubbed his chin, "Experiment, no. Whatever you think of your father, Theta, he would never use, or think of, his own child in such a way. No." He folded his arms. "However, while we're on the subject, it may have caused your first body to age rather rapidly and be more humanlike in its bodily make-up. I recall only one of your hearts was working when you visited me in the early nineteen-sixties."

The Doctor furrowed his brow, "I recall that, yes." He mentioned bluntly, preferring not to remember than particular visit; in which he and his father's late-wife, Anne, had almost come to blows, after a rather loud argument about The Doctor calling her: 'That woman.'

"But it balanced itself out, after you regenerated the first time, didn't it?" Ulysses, ever the brilliant geneticist, invoked. "No more trouble with your hearts?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes and nodded, "No, Father. Apart from being shot in them at the end of my seventh body; and having invasive open-heart surgery before my regeneration into my eighth–that was here you know, in San Francisco." He looked around, "I wonder how Grace is? I haven't seen her in centuries…"

Ulysses grasped his son's arm. "Your regenerations. How many of them have you done under trauma, Theta? I've never asked."

The Doctor glanced back at his father, "Ah…well, that's the million dollar question, isn't it? Let's see," he began numbering off on his long fingers.

"First was when my body gave out; second I was forced to do by the CIA; third I was poisoned; fourth I collapsed on the ground from a great height; fifth I was poisoned; sixth I was shot; seventh I was shot, twice; eighth was from the effort of trapping Gallifrey and the Time Lords; ninth was absorbing the energy from the TARDIS; tenth was extreme radiation absorption.

"So I would have to go with nine out of ten."

Ulysses scowled, the expression on his bearded features suggesting that he was sorry he asked the question in the first place. "I wouldn't call that much of a joke, Theta." He snapped, causing his son to feel like a time-tot again.

The Doctor immediately regretted putting it so bluntly. "No, sir. But, honestly, as you know, the first regeneration is always frightening and it only gets worse from there. I felt sure the last regeneration I went through was going to be the final death of me, absorbing the amount of radiation as I did." He folded his arms and looked down at his feet.

"I was close to openly sobbing, more so because I was alone, just like at the end of the Time War…that eighth regeneration had petrified me too, because I'd never been alone when I'd died before."

Ulysses pursed his lips, "You know that the Time Lords have a part of ourselves that is of a collective mind, son; and that when regeneration occurs, it's commonly done under strict medical supervision with many monitors, as you are well aware." He pointed out mildly.

"But yours have primarily either been in your TARDIS; or somewhere splayed out upon the ground!"

The Doctor sulked and turned his head away, "It's not like I had a lot of choice. And, in my defense, one of them _was_ in a hospital, abet one just a few miles from here." He pointed out, pulling at a loose bit of cane on the armrest of his chair. "I've tried to be careful, but there's just been so much I've had to do over the last few centuries."

Father and son fell quiet again, the sound of the wooden wind-chimes on the porch blending in with the soft chirping of crickets. Turning his gaze up to the clear night sky, The Doctor let out a small chuckle and allowed himself to relax back against the chair.

"Do you remember the last time we were together like this? The meteor shower we watched from the platform high up in the Prydonian mountains, overlooking Lungbarrow."

Ulysses sighed and turned his gaze upwards to the heavens with a nod, "When you were ten," he murmured. "I remember very well, it was many lifetimes ago, but I can still see the stern little face you had back then –always with an expression to old for your years– transform into a look of absolute wonderment; just like any other child." Joyce glanced aside at his grown son and smiled nostalgically.

"I'm glad you remember. That you choose to do so, I should say."

The Doctor lowered his gaze from the night sky and looked over at his father, smiling slowly as he reached over to rest his hand atop of Ulysses. "Whatever has happened between now and then, it's water under and over the bridge. We've moved on. I'm not the man–rather boy, I was back a thousand years ago." He nodded resolvedly.

"You and the TARDIS are the only things I have left in this universe that are constants. Gallifrey is gone. Susan, Romana, Irving, Telemakhus, Gillian and that ghost of my Mother with it. Even my Sarah Jane left me…" The Doctor wiped his eyes and shook his head. "…River is not a constant and even she'll be gone, soon." He gazed at his father.

"What am I to do or think?"

Ulysses rested his free hand on his son's shoulder, "What you need to do is stop and there is no 'or', just _think_. That's all." He looked firmly into his son's eyes. "I can't tell you where to stop and I can't tell you what to think. But I'll make a suggestion, where were you happy, Theta? Your earliest memory of being happy?"

The Doctor paused, "London, in the nineteenth century. With you and Mother, when we were staying with my maternal Grandparents." He recalled, furrowing his brow. "But I'm completely wretched at the moment, how could I taint a happy memory like that?"

Ulysses sighed and patted The Doctor's shoulder, "Because it's not tainting it. It's a place for healing. I would have thought your Hermit friend would have told you about seeking quiet solitude, if you feel the need after a great loss, where you feel the safest place to do so." He pointed out.

The Doctor nodded thoughtfully, watching as his father's bearded features split into a knowing, small smile as he got to his feet.

"Follow me, Theta." Ulysses encouraged, stepping around his chair and heading back towards the house. The Doctor curiously got to his own feet and followed after his father, as Ulysses slipped back into the townhouse.

The Doctor put down his decanter on one of the benches in the impeccably kept kitchen; and walked through the kitchen to the study, where he saw his father pulling out a large, familiar trunk; covered in a rough piece of cloth, to protect it from the elements.

Whipping off the cloth, Ulysses revealed the green painted trunk, it's arched lid covered in glittering, golden circular Gallifreyan. The Doctor knelt down, almost reverently, beside his father, as he reached out to run his hand over the trunk.

"Mother's trunk…I remember helping Borusa carry this onto the capsule when we took her back to Earth…to you," The Doctor recalled back centuries, which, in this time period, was only over seventy years previously. Ulysses leaned over and twisted the rounded latches.

"I crafted it for Penelope," the former Time Lord murmured, almost as reverently as his son was gazing at the trunk, leaning back as the lid glided open with a soft hiss. Pulling back the blanket covering the inside, Ulysses pulled out a pile of clothing and passed it over to The Doctor.

Lifting up the velvet coat to look at the other articles of clothing in the pile his father had passed over, The Doctor recognized the clothing and looked sharply over at his father; as Ulysses pulled out and straightened a stove-pipe top hat, nodding at his son.

"They're all from the time we spent with the Gates. I would have given them to you for the wardrobe in your TARDIS since I don't have any use for them nowadays, except for perhaps a costume party." Ulysses handed the stove-pipe hat to his son and nodded. "I think they'll fit you perfectly in this regeneration, you're about the same build I was in my last regeneration."

The Doctor nodded, "Thanks." He said simply, placing the clothing beside him as he looked into the trunk. "Mother's dresses…breeches…shirts…your clothing…your robes of state." The Doctor pulled out the glittering, scarlet Prydonian robe of a Time Lord and stared at it, tracing his fingers over its folds. "It's like looking at a vision from the past."

"Your TARDIS is a _living_ vision of the past," Ulysses pointed out simply, reaching into the trunk and pulling out the scalloped, shoulder-grazing headdress belonging to the Prydonian chapter robes. "Perhaps this trunk belongs in her possession, as a part of Gallifrey. These robes should be with the last Time Lord."

The Doctor looked up at his father, nodding in understanding, "It's a powerful word, _last_." He folded up the robes and placed them back into the trunk, along with the other items of clothing.

"I've been looking for any other Time Lords or Gallifreyans that may have survived Gallifrey. I've only ever encountered the Master; and he was pulled into the Time Lock with Rassilon a few years ago in this timeline." The Doctor shook his head as he helped Ulysses close the trunk.

"I thought I'd found some of our people at the ends of the Earth, but a monster had consumed them when they sort out help. I wasn't there to–" The Doctor ran his hands over his face and through his hair, looking over at his father's raised brow. "–don't start with your 'you do too much and demand too much of yourself, son' speech again, please."

Ulysses leaned back on his haunches and rested his arm over the trunk he'd crafted for Penelope Gate, when they had been newlyweds. It had been finished just when the very son before him had just been conceived.

"I wouldn't dream of it. You've been set in your ways for twelve hundred years, I can't change your mind, Theta. Maybe there is others, our people, out there, who survived; and they're waiting and reaching out in contact. You might find them one day and you may never." Ulysses pressed his finger into the middle of his son's chest.

"But you will go on living in Gallifrey's memory. You will do as you have always done; and you will be great as you have always been. You make your father proud, even if he doesn't say it as often as he should or should have."

The Doctor bowed his head, nodding slowly as he got to his feet, "I've had companions lately that I could not confide in about the Time Lords…one, Donna, I could. A little at least. I could tell her about Gallifrey; and about Telemakhus and Cassiopeia…well, rather being a father. Just like I could with Sarah Jane long ago–"

"And then you just stopped talking about Gallifrey to your companions," Ulysses finished with a knowing, sad smile as he got to his feet, resting his hand on his son's shoulder. "They weren't interested; or they couldn't know; or you just couldn't bring yourself to do so." His gaze turned distant.

"I learnt to do something very similar, especially after your mother passed. Anne never wanted to know about Gallifrey either; she, deep down, hated that I was an alien. That's why she was so curt with you, Theta. Anne was always afraid you'd come and take me away."

The Doctor couldn't help but half-smile, "Threaten Anne Baker-Joyce? I'd take my chances against an army of daleks any day. She almost whacked me unconscious with a broom back in nineteen-seventy-nine when I came for a visit." He remembered ruefully, rubbing the top of his head in memory.

Ulysses chucked and shook his head, "To be fair, it was past midnight and you'd regenerated since the last time we saw you. You just opened up the door with that irritating sonic-screwdriver of yours; and strolled right inside –calling out loudly if anyone was awake– accompanied by that Time Lady companion of yours… Romanadvoratrelundar, wasn't it?" He smiled.

"I liked that one. Delicate and refined. Quite brilliantly charming, as I recall."

The Doctor smiled fondly, before rubbing his eyes with his right hand, "Romana, yes. I remember you were quite taken with her. I didn't know if during that visit if Anne was going to throw you out the door, along with me and Romana, at any given opportunity; considering the way you were flirting with Romana." He jokingly scolded his father.

Ulysses shrugged, "I was hoping you'd take a cue from your old sire. You just let her slip through your fingers; and you didn't do a damn thing to stop her leaving you in the end, did you?" He murmured knowingly.

The Doctor sucked in air between his teeth and nodded. "At the time, I just let her stroll away into E-Space. When I returned to Gallifrey during the war, I met up with Romana again and we spent a little time together…but a war isn't a place for making amends. We all just have to learn to keep moving on with regrets," he cocked his head to the side, looking down at the swirling Gallifreyan carvings on the trunk.

"I often wonder about Romana, just as I often wonder about Sarah Jane; and Tegan; and Peri; and Grace; and Rose; and I know I already do about River. But with Romana…there is something…I can't let her go, like with all the other women I cared for in a more serious sense. I keep hoping that if any other Time Lord survived, she is the one."

Ulysses let out a "Hmm," of acknowledgment, understanding his son's feelings explicitly. "You need to take the time to properly mull some things over. You basically threw yourself back into saving the universe after a horrible war, without stopping to think about everything you lost." He mentioned mildly.

"I think you do need to retire for a little while, my son. No matter how frustrated or angry you'll get at having to stay in one place for a lengthy period of time," the former Time Lord bent over the trunk he'd carved for Penelope Gate. "Now, give me a hand with this trunk and we'll take it into your TARDIS. The repulser lifts haven't worked in decades."

-xxx-

Dropping the trunk at the front of the nineteen-fifties Police-Box camouflaged TARDIS, Ulysses traced his gaze over his son's ship with a fond smile.

"She's updated her exterior. I like this new shade of blue–and the St John's Ambulance badge is back. Clever old girl," Ulysses patted the TARDIS side; and The Doctor could feel her humming happily at his father's praise.

"The _Type-40 Mark III_ capsule. I loved this design. Unpredictable, but they were so charming. Myself and the other geneticists on Gallifrey were convinced you were conceived in my Type-40 at the time, Theta; considering the fact you were a time tot, despite being half-alien...and created naturally at all, because of the sterilization of our people."

The Doctor laughed ironically, "Oh, for the love of Gallifrey. I wonder if that's why they retired the Type-40s, after they saw what could be produced," he pulled out his key. "Interrupting their precious looming practices and leading to more cross-breeding."

Ulysses nodded, "I figured on that myself." He agreed, watching as his son pushed open the right hand door to his TARDIS, "Still pushing instead of pulling, I see." Ulysses mentioned, tapping on the sign on the left door.

The Doctor rolled his eyes, "I know, I know. Believe me, I know." He patted the side of his TARDIS and Ulysses cleared his throat, shoving his hands into his khaki pant pockets.

"Well, I'll leave you to it. It's been–"

"What? No, come on inside for a moment," The Doctor interrupted, inclining his head inside his ship. "You haven't seen her interior since the nineteen-eighties. We can take the trunk to the wardrobe room and I'll even make you a decent cup of Darjeeling."

Ulysses hesitated a moment, "All right." He lifted up one handle of the trunk and his son picked up the other, as they stepped into the TARDIS. The ancient capsule turning on all her lights, to show off her interior to her owner's father.

"Very nice." Ulysses complimented with a nostalgic smile, looking over at the console as he and The Doctor strolled into the ship's main console room. "I like the theme variant…wait, is that a pinball machine on the console?"

The Doctor nodded slowly, in quiet thought. "It was a different time when I had this theme. I may change it to something a little more like Silver Omega. Well, I'll have all the time in the literal world to think about it later." He murmured thoughtfully, as they walked towards the left.

Passing down the hallways, they stopped in front of an elaborately carved, ornate set of wooden doors. The Doctor snapped his fingers and the doors both swung inwards, revealing the huge wardrobe room.

Ulysses eyed his youngest son with a sigh, "You've certainly come of age, haven't you?" He mentioned. "Your TARDIS opens up her doors with a snap of your fingers. I've only ever heard such things in legends."

The Doctor smiled sadly, "River mentioned it the day she died. Snap of my fingers and the old girl is that strongly attached to me now, she responds with only gestures." he helped his father carry the trunk into the wardrobe room. They walked up the short flight of stairs to place it down on the platform.

Ulysses straightened and stretched backwards, "You know, Theta, I came to terms long ago that you had your reasons for failing your examinations the way you did, even with your brilliant mind." He glanced firmly at his son, who was rubbing the back of his neck.

"Borusa and the others would have been watching every move you made, thinking you were some sort of perfect, prophesied miracle child. And I know now, there is a certain level of truth to you being prophesied; but you did so badly in your studies because you wanted to be away from their scrutiny. You wanted your freedom."

The Doctor pushed his hands through his hair and nodded, "I always did. And I paid the price for it." He smiled sadly, "I'm still paying." He looked down at his feet. "I'll go get that cup of tea I promised. I won't be a moment. Then you can tell me where John has been all these years."

Ulysses watched his gangly son gallop down the stairs and head out of the room. Rubbing the back of his neck in a mimicry of his middle born child, the former Time Lord went for a stroll through the semi-circle area, running his hands through the clothing on the hangers; and picking up the clothing seemingly discarded on the ground.

Picking up a long trench coat, Ulysses looked down when he heard a squeaking noise accompanying the motion. Something covered under a soft, large blue blanket, was rocking back and forth, revealing a curved, faded base.

Ulysses dropped the trench-coat and knelt down beside the blanket covered object, pulling back the cloth slowly, the aging alien man's face split into a surprise smile as he recognised the carved object revealed.

The cradle he'd carved for Theta. Something not needed for time-tots for centuries, since they were always loomed at five or more years of age. Ulysses had realised the need for such an object for his unborn son and had managed to design the cradle based off of designs from similar human objects, programing the computers to replicate and create the cradle.

The mobile hanging from it's roof, the careful construction Ulysses had modeled after the Kasterborous galaxy that was once the Gallifrey home system. It was faded and slightly worn and chipped, from centuries of small, wondering hands, reaching up to grasp at the rounded, glittering planet and star replicas.

Ulysses traced his fingers over the golden, circular Gallifreyan across the faded exterior of the cradle. [Theta Sigma. Telemakhus. Kassiopia. Ioanis. Giuliana. Arkytior. Melody Pond…]

"Susan brought it with her when we first left Gallifrey," The Doctor's voice broke through Ulysses' thoughtful murmurings of their native language, carved onto the ancient cradle's side.

The older Gallifreyan raised his gaze upwards as his son knelt down beside him, handing his father one of the fine-bone teacups in his dual grasp.

The Doctor used his now free right hand to rest upon the edge of the cradle, "I asked her later why, out of all the objects to take aboard the TARDIS she took the cradle. And Susan said: 'Because it is our family.'" He rocked the cradle idly. "Susan slept in here up until she was a year old, they all did. I remember rocking my children; and then my grandchildren in this."

Ulysses nodded with a smile, taking a sip of his tea. "I made this for you. I scoured all the ancient libraries to craft it for you," he mentioned softly.

The Doctor smiled back at his father with a nod, "I remember Mother telling me. I was never any good at crafting, only little figures and the sort," he remembered, sitting back and crossing his long legs Turkish style. "You should take it with you, you may have great-grandchildren again soon enough."

Ulysses took a sip of his tea with a shake of his head, "It's yours, Theta. It was always yours. And besides," he lowered the tea-cup from his lips with a tilt of his head, "who's to say I'm not going to be a _grandfather_ to another of your children ever again? "

The Doctor rubbed his brow with a small shrug, "I couldn't tell you, Father. I doubt it. With River it's complicated and I just don't know." He took a sip from his teacup and smiled idly. "Tell me how you and Mother met."

Ulysses looked surprised as he turned his gaze away from the cot and over at his smiling son, "I thought we were going to talk about where to find John. Besides, I'm sure your mother told you that old story years ago." He replied.

The Doctor nodded and leaned back on one hand, the right hand still holding his teacup, "She did. Many times. But I never heard the story from you." He waved the hand grasping his teacup, like he was a Viking raising a toast in an ancient mead hall. "We've got all the time in the universe and I won't take 'no' for an answer."

The former Time Lord shook his head, smiling as he looked down into the contents of his teacup, "It was in London. I can't recall the exact date and damned if I remember the time. I just remember her and that infernal horse carriage excuse for a primitive time-machine..."

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**I hope you enjoyed this story and feel free to review and let me know your thoughts.**

**Thank-you for reading.**


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